California lawmakers pass new semi-automatic weapons ban

Reuters
People fire at targets at the Los Angeles gun club in Los Angeles, January 23, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - New sales of semi-automatic rifles with removable magazines would be banned in California under a bill passed by the Democratic-led state legislature on Tuesday, and those who already own such weapons would have to register them. The measure, which passed the state Assembly 44-31 and now goes to Governor Jerry Brown for his signature, is one of a package of gun control bills passed earlier this year by the state senate in the wake of the massacre last year at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)